Two shot in St. Pete hotel parking garage taken to hospital, police say

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Two people were shot in a hotel parking garage on Central Avenue in St. Petersburg Monday afternoon, officers said.

The St. Pete Police Department said they responded around 12:30 p.m. to a shots fired call in the parking garage at the Tru by Hilton St. Petersburg Hotel on Central Avenue. 

When officer arrived, they found a 25-year-old man, who works at the hotel as a valet, and a 29-year-old woman each with one gunshot wound. Both were taken to Bayfront Health with non-life-threatening injuries in stable condition, investigators said. 

Police say they’re searching for the suspect and aren’t releasing any suspect information right now. St. Pete Assistant Police Chief Michael Kovacsev said they believe it was a targeted attack. 

"We don't think it's random at all," he said. "We think there's a reason why the individual was here to target one of those individuals. So, we're piecing it together. We're confident we'll be able to piece through the entire incident. But right now, we don't feel like there's anything to worry about. It was specific to the individuals here."

According to Kovacsev, they believe the suspect targeted the female victim who was staying at the hotel and the valet employee was at the wrong place at the wrong time. Kovacsev said the victims don’t know each other. 

While he reiterated that the shooting wasn’t random, he urged people to be aware of their surroundings. 

"Unfortunately, you know, these are things that happen in large cities that we have to try to mitigate. It's nothing to be overly concerned about," Kovacsev said. "We will continue to investigate, and hopefully we'll bring resolution to everything. Stay safe. Keep aware of your surroundings, do the best you can and avoid becoming a victim."

Harold Baker just moved in across the street from the hotel.

"Rent’s due for the first time on the first of the month, so we were squaring it away and in the lobby and got my mail, was looking at my mail, looked out the window and this is what we saw," Baker said.

Baker said he’ll remain vigilant, but isn’t overly concerned.

"This is the first police activity we've seen since we moved in. I waked to a Rays game and came out nine, 10 o’clock at night and there were no issues there," Baker said.

Anyone with information is asked to call the St. Pete Police Department at (727) 893-7780.